Ensure no fuel is added to 'no fuel'
Good public policy doesn't just solve problems. It does so fairly, efficiently, and with an eye on the future. It's also shaped transparently, with all stakeholders at the table. But all these boxes are rarely ticked. Take Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) recent directive: starting July 1, all end-of-life (EoL) vehicles - diesel vehicles over 10 years old, and over-15 petrol ones - regardless of their state of registration, won't be allowed to refuel in Delhi. This decision makes ample sense, given pollution concerns. But it has put petrol pump-owners in a spot, considering civic sense (read: public reaction to rules and regulations) across India isn't one of its fortes.
Earlier this week, Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) urged the city administration to revoke penalties on pump-owners for failing to enforce the 'no fuel for old vehicles' policy. They raised three concerns. One, under Essential Commodities Act, dealers aren't allowed to deny fuel to any customer. Two, pump attendants are not trained or authorised to act as enforcement officers. Three, unless the rule applies across Delhi-NCR, vehicles will refuel just outside city limits, hurting business.
All three points are valid. The second is the most pressing, especially in Delhi, where enforcing rules often comes at personal risk. Confrontations between the public and those tasked with policy implementation can quickly escalate. In Ghaziabad, a pump attendant was recently shot for enforcing the 'No Helmet, No Fuel' rule. In April, two toll plaza staffers in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district were injured in a dispute over toll charges. Enforcement is the state's job. If that requires boots on the ground, so be it. Compliance shouldn't be taken for granted.
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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
Delhi bans fuel for old vehicles from July 1: How will defaulters be tracked?
Starting July 1, Delhi will stop supplying fuel to all overage vehicles. As part of this effort, the Transport Department, the Traffic Police, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will work together to identify hotspots that see a high number of such vehicles attempting to pass through the city. These vehicles will be identified by ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras that have been installed at 498 fuel stations, officials said Friday. According to directions issued earlier this year by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), all end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) — 10 years for diesel vehicles and 15 years for petrol ones — will be denied fuel starting Tuesday. From October 31, the plan comes into effect in five high-vehicle-density districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat. Niharika Rai, Secretary-Cum-Commissioner, Transport Department, said the number of ELVs arriving at a fuel station will be noted, as it could be a proxy for vehicle owners residing in nearby areas. Targeted action will be taken at such fuel stations, Rai said. 'Joint teams of the transport department, traffic police and MCD will be deployed at all identified fuel stations reporting a high number of such vehicles.' Ajay Chaudhary, Special Commissioner (Traffic), Delhi Police, said, 'The departments are still assessing how the teams should be deployed as a few fuel stations work around the clock, but others work for a few hours.' He emphasised that there will be no loopholes and the plan will be implemented stringently, as all staff at fuel stations have also been trained. The ANPR cameras have been installed at 498 fuel stations in Delhi, including 382 petrol or diesel stations and 116 CNG filling stations, and 3 ISBTs across the Capital, said CAQM officials on Friday. The cameras will cross-verify the number plates, captured in a few milliseconds, with the VAHAN database containing a vehicle's registration details, fuel type, and age. The fuel station operator would then receive an alert if the vehicle is flagged as an ELV. This will also be shared with enforcement agencies to take action, such as impoundment and scrapping. According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for fuel stations, there has to be a mandatory display of signage on denying fuel to ELVs. Staff should be trained in implementing the drive. Station operators also need to maintain logs, either manual or digital, of such fuel denial instances and report them to the Transport Department weekly. The Transport Department will deploy teams at fuel stations where maximum visits of such ELVs are observed and take action against any violating fuel stations. It has to submit a list of violating fuel stations to the CAQM and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas every week. Dr Virender Sharma, Member-Technical at CAQM, said that although laws had been in place to not allow overage vehicles to ply in Delhi, as per the Supreme Court's 2018 directions, the liquidation of such vehicles can only be done by adopting stringent measures such as denying fueling. '… These steps will ensure better air quality, especially for Delhi's elderly and children, who suffer the most due to air pollution.' The CAQM also said in a statement on Friday, 'Delhi-NCR's transport sector contributes about 28% of PM 2.5, 41% of SO2, and 78% of NOX emissions to overall air pollution'. The enforcement mechanism -Targeted enforcement through ANPR camera data. Hotspots (fuel stations with high EVL numbers) to be identified -Joint agency deployment of Transport, Traffic Police, MCD department officials at fuel stations -Coordinated ops: A shared contact list of key officers will ensure smooth inter-agency coordination -Designated nodal officers at fuel stations will coordinate with enforcement -Police will be deployed to prevent issues arising out of fuel denial to overage vehicles -Transport Department will collect and share daily EVL identification and impoundment data to CAQM
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Multi-agency teams, police personnel to be deployed at fuel stations to oversee ban on refuelling of overage vehicles in Delhi from July 1
All the necessary measures have been undertaken to ensure strict enforcement of the ban on overage or 'end of life' vehicles from refuelling in Delhi from July 1, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) said on Friday. The measures include setting up joint teams of officials from the Transport Department, Traffic Police, and Municipal Corporation of Delhi and deploying them at fuel stations reporting high volume of visitors with overage vehicles. Overage or 'end of life' vehicles are defined as petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. The ban will come into effect in five National Capital Region districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat from November 1 and across the NCR from April 1, 2026. In a statement, the CAQM said that adequate police personnel, in addition to PCR vehicles, will be deployed near fuel stations in the Capital to prevent untoward incidents that may arise due to the denial of fuel. The Centre's air pollution watchdog said that from June 1 to June 23, 77.8 lakh vehicles were screened through the Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera system, of which 1.36 lakh vehicles were identified as 'end of life'.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
EOL vehicles will be impounded at fuel stations from July 1: CAQM
New Delhi/Noida, End-of-life vehicles detected at fuel stations or found parked at public places will be impounded and a penalty of ₹ 10,000 imposed on four-wheeler owners and ₹ 5,000 on two-wheeler owners starting July 1, officials said on Friday. EOL vehicles will be impounded at fuel stations from July 1: CAQM EOL vehicles are diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. Irrespective of the states they are registered in, they will not be given fuel in Delhi starting July 1, according to directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management earlier. Around 500 fuel stations in Delhi have installed Automated Number Plate Recognition cameras to detect EOL vehicles. "When a vehicle enters a fuel station, a special camera will read its number plate. This number will be instantly checked with the central VAHAN database, which will show details like the vehicle's age, fuel type and registration. If the vehicle is found to be EOL, it will be flagged as an EOL vehicle. The system will alert the fuel station staff not to refuel it. The violation will be recorded and sent to enforcement agencies, who may then take action, such as impounding and scrapping the vehicle," Virendra Sharma, Member , CAQM, said. Delhi Transport Commissioner Niharika Rai said any EOL vehicle detected at the fuel stations will be impounded on the spot. To discourage their use, penalties have been set for owners of impounded vehicles. Four-wheeler owners will be fined ₹ 10,000, while those who own two-wheelers will have to pay ₹ 5,000, along with towing and parking charges, the CAQM said. Also, the owners must submit an undertaking stating that the vehicles will not be used or parked at any public place and will be removed from Delhi's jurisdiction, it said. Enforcement agencies will carry out regular drives to remove EOL vehicles from public places in Delhi and send daily reports to the environment department for submission to the CAQM, Sharma said. If an EOL vehicle is found on the road or parked in a public area, it will be seized and a seizure memo issued. All such impounded vehicles will be sent to a registered vehicle scrapping facility . If the owner wants to move the vehicle out of Delhi, he must get a no-objection certificate within a year of the vehicle's expiry date, officials said. Rai said the fuel stations violating the directions during the trial run of the ANPR system have been identified. "We will deploy a team comprising transport and traffic police officials at each of these fuel stations. They will ensure that there is no law-and-order problem while implementing the system," the official said. The mechanism will be rolled out in five high-vehicle-density districts adjoining Delhi Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Sonipat from November 1, with the installation of ANPR cameras to be completed by October 31. The remaining NCR districts have been given time till March 31, 2026, to install the cameras, with fuel denial for EOL vehicles starting April 1, 2026. Officials also said the CAQM will soon issue an order to implement the mechanism at Delhi's 156 entry points for EOL vehicles as well as for buses and other heavy goods vehicles. Sharma said around 100 enforcement teams comprising officials from the traffic and transport departments have been set up. Strict action will be taken against the fuel stations found flouting the directions under relevant legal provisions, he said. The CAQM shared that there are 62 lakh EOL vehicles in Delhi, of which 41 lakh are two-wheelers. The total number of EOL vehicles in the other National Capital Region districts is around 44 lakh and these are largely concentrated in the five high-density cities. The directions come amid poor progress in removing old, polluting vehicles from the NCR despite previous orders from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal. Assistant Regional Transport Officer , Gautam Budh Nagar, Udit Narayan Pandey, said, "The CAQM has issued an important order to promote pollution control and clean air, under which from November 1, 15-year-old petrol vehicles and 10-year-old diesel vehicles will not be provided fuel at petrol pumps in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad." He added that the rule will apply to 2.08 lakh vehicles registered in Gautam Budh Nagar. Pandey appealed to the owners of EOL vehicles to scrap the vehicles and opt for alternative arrangements, such as buying environment-friendly electric vehicles or using public transport. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
